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How To Build On A Sloping Site

A sloping site is both a problem and a gift. The problem: it adds complexity and, therefore, cost to the project. The gift: when you’ve finished, you’ll have a much more interesting house. In this article we take you through the construction and cost implications for building on a slope.

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Josette Mae Atanacio
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446 views

How To Build On A Sloping Site

A sloping site is both a problem and a gift. The problem: it adds complexity and, therefore, cost to the project. The gift: when you’ve finished, you’ll have a much more interesting house. In this article we take you through the construction and cost implications for building on a slope.

Uploaded by

Josette Mae Atanacio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Build on a Sloping Site

A sloping site is both a problem and a gift. The problem: it adds complexity and,
therefore, cost to the project. The gift: when youve finished, youll have a much
more interesting house. In this article we take you through the construction and cost
implications for building on a slope.

Costs
Cut and Fill
Drainage and Sewars
Basements
Retaining Walls
Building on Stilts

How Will A Slope Affect Costs?


The use of reinforced suspended concrete floors most commonly precast beam
and hard landscaping, extra drainage, including perhaps the necessity for a pump,
and extra work in stepping the foundations will all cost money. It is, however,
questionable whether it is safe to try to extrapolate this into sliding scales or costs
per square metre relating to degrees of slope for instance 1% extra for every
degree of slope. Average build costs per square metre are a rough and ready
reckoner that you can use at the outset of your self-build project. They should never
be used beyond the detailed drawings or once work has commenced on site. Use
the up-to-date Build Cost Table on this site in the first assessment, but thereafter
cost each project on its own merits.

Cut and Fill


This describes the process of carving out a level plinth on a sloping site, in order to
build a home that is essentially designed for use on a level site. Any spoil that is cut
from the bank is reserved in order for it to be brought back to make up the levels on
the lower edge. The foundation costs are always going to increase due to the slope
of the land and the requirement that the foundations should find original subsoil
bearing. If the spoil is piled up against the lower or built up section of the new home
then provision will have to be made for the oversite level within the building to be
brought up to within 600mm of the proposed external soil level, in order to equalise
the pressure on the walling. However, carting spoil away from a site is expensive
and time consuming and its retention on site is a cost benefit, just so long as there
is space to store it.

Drainage and Sewers


Having a sloping site may involve extra costs with drainage and sewers but not
necessarily. If your site slopes down from a road in which the sewer is fairly shallow
then you may have to think of using a pumped sewage system. This can add at
least 2,000 to the drainage costs. However, there may be a corresponding saving
due to the fact that the 50mm flexible pipe may well be cheaper to lay than a
conventional drainage pipe.

If your site slopes down from the road, within which the sewer is quite deep, then
the slope may actually represent a saving in cost, as the resulting house drainage
will not have to be as deep. Sites which slope up from the road and sewer may
seem more attractive so far as drainage is concerned, but if the slope is significant
it might be necessary to install tumble bays within the manholes, in order to slow
off the fall, so that the effluent can enter the sewer at a reasonable rate.
Surface and rainwater is also a consideration. Sloping up from the road may at first
seem the best option, but many local authorities will not allow surface water to go
into the public sewers and many require that precautions are taken to ensure that
surface water does not flow onto the road. Sloping down from the road means that
surface water can collect around the base of the lower floor, or worse still, find its
way into the garage. This may mean having to install a drainage channel to divert
the water to soakaways.

Basements
On a costing level a basement is always going to cost at least the same amount per
square metre as any other part of the home, if not more. In ground with high water
tables or in heavy clay, these costs and the sheer physical difficulties presented
may make the choice unviable. However, if the lie of the land is such that there is
no alternative to either a full or partial basement, then this can be the cost effective
solution. Click here for our guide to basements.

Retaining Walls
Basement walls may have to be strong enough to hold back considerable banks of
ground, in which case they become retaining walls in their own right. In other
situations, such as building on a level plinth beside a natural or carved out bank, it
may be necessary to construct separate retaining walls. Above 1,200mm in height
these will have to be designed by an engineer. In certain circumstances it may be
cheaper, and visually more attractive, to construct a series of lower retaining walls
with the ground stepped between them. An alternative is wire cages known as
Gabions filled with stone, or interlocking concrete blocks that are subsequently
filled with soil and planted.

Building On Stilts
One way of building on steeply sloping land is to build out from it on a series of
supporting stilts or columns. This gets away from the need to build extensive
foundations on sloping ground and it negates the need for tanking. It also leaves the
ground relatively untouched, allowing planting to take place over much more of the
site. In certain situations it can be the cost effective solution and there is no reason
why it cannot be employed with multiple level designs. Click here to see a stunning
example of a self-build home on stilts.

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